Tax abatement dust-up in Zeeland

Tuesday

Aug 5, 2014 at 7:19 PMAug 5, 2014 at 7:19 PM

By Peg.McNichol@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4269

Zeeland City Council members heard from a very frustrated businessman at Monday's regular meeting. At issue: rules for the city's first use of a commercial redevelopment tax abatement.David and Laura Wilson are redeveloping 244 E. Main Ave., future site of Laura's company, GL Rentals. In June, city council granted a $750,000 tax abatement under the state's Act 255. The Wilsons told city officials they expected to finish construction by April 30, 2015. Then, the Wilsons said, they learned an elevator would be delivered on time and construction costs have gone up.Since then, David Wilson asked city council to increase the abatement to as much at $950,000 and push the construction deadline back to Dec. 31, 2015. He's also asked the city to remove a utility pole and run the line underground.What followed was a rather testy exchange between Wilson, Mayor Kevin Klynstra and the city's attorney, Jim Donkersloot. Klynstra told Wilson the utility pole will be removed as part of a future street renovation project because doing so independently costs between $10,000 and $20,000.Amending the abatement, Klynstra and Donkersloot said, would require a public hearing. Donkersloot read an email that he said was from a state treasury official saying the same thing. Wilson responded by reading an email from a state official saying council could vote to amend the abatement without a public hearing.After Monday's council meeting, the Wilsons said they're worried about delaying construction, set to start this month. Wilson and city officials said if construction isn't done by the deadline, the tax abatement request must be restarted.David Wilson owns Generational Wealth Management in Zeeland and has worked on Main Avenue for 10 years. Had he and his wife known about the deadline rule, he said, "we'd have put Dec. 31, 2015, to begin with."Zeeland Councilman Rich VanDorp, chairman of the city's tax abatement committee, said the city can't change the rules for one business. Donkersloot said state law requires a new public hearing for some tax abatements when the value rises by 10 percent or more.Act 255, passed in 1978, doesn't have the same stipulation nor does the city have a written policy, Donkersloot said. But, given an increase of more than 25 percent, he said, "how can you say you gave the public a fair opportunity to comment if you change the numbers? I don't think anyone's against the Wilsons."Heather Cole, the state treasury's administrator for Act 255, said Tuesday local governments can add such stipulations to tax abatements, as long as they don't contradict state law. Both Cole and Donkersloot said the Wilsons would not have to wait to start construction until after the tax abatement is amended.— Follow this reporter on Facebook and Twitter, @SentinelPeg.

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